promisedincladdagh
Naoise and Deidre
The Love Story of Deidre and Naoise
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One day Deidre was in the Forest.
She witnessed a man hunt and kill a calf.
Distressed by the death of the young animal,
Deidre was unable to turn way.
As she watched, the blood spilled on the snow.
A raven perched nearby.
Deidre became absorbed in the pity of the scene,
the white snow,
the red blood,
the black raven.
§
That night she again recalled the poor helpless calf.
She felt so sorrowful, and cried a little.
She fell asleep,
and the happenings of the day entered her dreams.
§
Then the scene vanished to reveal a young man.
He was so handsome.
His skin was fair,
his lips red and his hair was black.
§
When Deidre awoke, she remembered the dream.
She told Leabharcham
‘He was so handsome,’ she sighed.
§
“Could it be that the child is dreaming of Naoise?”
Leabharcham had spoken aloud,
and Deidre sprang on the name.
‘Who is Naoise?’
Leabharcham refused to answer until the girl pleaded,
so Leabharcham finally surrendered the information..
Naoise was handsome, a brave Warrior.
He helped to defend Ulster from all her foes.
The King respected him,
as did all men in Ulster.
He was a Warrior of great skill and strength,
equalled by his brothers.
§
From that moment,
Deidre longed to meet Naoise.
§§
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This is what you taught me..
cold,
the sweat of men,
the fear,
the rage of Battle.
§
There were the long nights,
the dark,
the mountainside..
§
There was the hard ground,
a stone for a pillow.
§
You taught me
we would despair,
but we would rise..
we would be defeated,
but we would rise
at your call,
your voice.
§
Time and again you led us
into Battle,
and we were your Knights of the Red Branch.
§
Everything we did,
starving;
enduring the cold;
meeting each skirmish;
keeping watch,
was for you,
the King,
and Ulster.
§
Ulster must not fall, nor
bow to the Kings of Ireland.
Ulster must stay free.
That is what you taught me.
§
I learned to love all your words,
I would have followed you to the ends of the Earth.
Through you,
I loved,
defended Ulster.
That is what you taught me.
§§
§
Naoise speaks of his time as a Knight of the Red Branch.
He served in the Army of King Connor.
§§
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What happened at the end?
Deidre died.
She was buried at the edge of a lake.
The grave of Naoise was at the other side of the lake.
King Connor did this for a purpose.
He wished to keep the lovers far apart.
§
A tree grew from each grave, and as time passed each tree bowed,
the branches began to reach towards the far side of the lake.
§
People say that the trees were Yew Trees.
§
As time passed the branches of each tree reached towards one another.
It seemed that the young people were reaching towards one another.
§
People came to the lake to look at the trees.
§
Finally King Connor became angry at this attention.
§
However, he was taken aside.
Despite their loyalty to their King,
the people had begun to speak about the lovers, and to regret the tragedy which had befallen them.
§§
A rumour grew that they intended to bury the lovers together.
King Connor was warned not to interfere.
§
One night,
the people secretly went to the lake,
removed Deidre and carried her to the grave of Naoise.
The other grave was opened.
Deidre was laid beside Naoise.
Legend tells us that her arms clasped around his neck and she lay as one asleep on his chest.
The tree above her grave was planted beside the first.
Then the people left.
§
Over time the branches of each tree entwined.
So the people said
They are joined in death as they were in life.
§§§
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The Knights of the House
The Knights of the Red Branch
§
These were armed and fighting men who served King Connor.
§
They were loyal to him and fought to defend Ulster.
§
In Ancient Ireland,
the Country was divided into regions.
Each region had its own King,
although there was a High King of Ireland.
§
Naoise was a Knight of the Red Branch.
§
The term is unexplained now.
No-one really knows what
Red Branch refers to.
§
There are attempts to uncover the meaning by historians and anyone with an interest.
§
It could refer to an Oak tree.
Oak trees grow in Ulster,
and are still important symbols today.
§
The Oak is a likely candidate.
§
Clans adopted trees as their emblems,
and carried them into battle.
§
It is very possible that Ulster people would carry branches from the Oak into battle in Ancient times.
§§
Red Branch could refer to the Rowan,
which is rich with red berries.
§
But this is not likely.
It is considered wrong to cut a Rowan tree even today,
as those trees are still considered to be the property of the fairies.
§
It could refer to the Holly,
but the Holly was claimed by the Cullen clan.
Their name in Irish means Holly.
§§
Therefore,
the most likely choice would be the Oak.
§
But why Red?
§
They may have painted the branches red,
to symbolise blood,
as a warning to their enemies.
§
We do not know the origin of the name.
§§
We only have their title:
the Knights of the Red Branch.
§§
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Loss
§
One day,
Deidre was playing Chess with Naoise.
She won and clapped her hands.
§
Naoise looked at the Board.
"What does it matter,
if all else is lost?"
§
Deidre knew that he was talking about Ireland.
Deidre had fled with Naoise to Scotland.
They had become wealthy.
Naoise was admired in Scotland,
and he lived there safely with Deidre and his brothers.
Deidre was very happy.
She loved her husband.
They were safe.
§
But now she knew that Naoise missed Ireland.
He was homesick.
§
Naoise longed to return to Ireland,
and did so.
He was tricked and promised that he was forgiven by King Connor.
§
But Connor intended to kill Naoise,
and Naoise died with his brothers in combat.
§
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Why is the Story of Deidre and Naoise still important?
§
It contains so much of the human experience..
Love,
Passion.
§
There are Battles,
the homesickness of Naoise;
the Betrayal of Naoise and his brothers.
§
There is the rage of King Connor,
his revenge.
§
Then there is the grief of Deidre.
§
We can relate to parts of the Tale at different times in our lives.
Maybe we have fallen in love,
or been homesick,
or known grief.
§
All Legends are like this.
We relate to the characters.
§§
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Love story
How did the legend of Deidre and Naoise survive?
§
One reason is it is a story, and is easy to recite to listeners.
§
Thus it could be carried on to the next Generation.
Written documents were often destroyed in War.
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There is a second legend connected with the story.
It goes like this:
§
When the lovers died the people felt sorry.
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So the people swore an Oath..
They would never forget Deidre and Naoise.
Nor would the Irish people.
They swore that they would tell the story to their children,
who would pass it on to their children.
§
I do not know if this is true,
or if Deidre and Naoise existed.
§
But we do still tell this story.
It has survived conflict, and colonisation.
It has survived when other aspects of Irish culture have been lost.
§
The claim is this is the oldest love story in Europe.
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Legend
Why is the Legend of Deidre and Naoise so significant?
§
I think it has become important because it is a story about grief.
When Deidre lost her husband she lived for a year.
She was silent, refused to speak, and struggled with grief.
§
In Irish culture it is not encouraged to talk about our emotions.
§
People tend to approach the issue of feelings in an indirect manner.
They will sing a sad song, or read a poem, or tell a story.
If we tell the story of Deidre then we are talking about grief.
§§
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